# Can Barack Obama possibly meet these ridiculous high expectations? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 19, 2009, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-barack-obama-possibly-meet-these-ridiculous-high-expectations/482041 "2009-01-19T21:31:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-barack-obama-possibly-meet-these-ridiculous-high-expectations/482041/41 "2009-01-21T03:43:54Z")
> [@ivan\_astikov](#): > > No offense, but you are a member of the only group that openly celebrates or parades their sexuality, sometimes to the extreme. Bullshit. Show me a beer commercial where an oily dude in a Speedo is being leered at and lusted after by another dude. Because the hetero equivalent airs multiple times an hour on every sports-oriented station, twenty four seven. It’s absolutely there, all the time, in your face, constantly. You just don’t see it because it’s an unexamined, unquestioned part of your personal identity. So take that celebrating-and-parading crap and flush it. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-barack-obama-possibly-meet-these-ridiculous-high-expectations/482041/42 "2009-01-21T04:17:56Z")
The previous 2 posters are both right and I apologise for my hastily posted bollocks. It wasn’t very well thought out, was it\*.( where’s the shamefaced emote when you need it?) - As well as being a hijack! I think I need sleep. ---
**Author:** ![PatriotGrrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9dc877/32.png) [@PatriotGrrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotGrrrl)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-barack-obama-possibly-meet-these-ridiculous-high-expectations/482041/43 "2009-01-21T05:02:36Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > If Obama keeps the debt below 40 Trillion, does not invade Canada, and pronounces most of his words correctly, I will consider his term in office to be a success. Well, he pronounced Concord right, which is more than some people do. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-barack-obama-possibly-meet-these-ridiculous-high-expectations/482041/44 "2009-01-21T05:09:52Z")
> [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](#): > > One would really hope that after 4/8 years of presidency, you’d be remembred for something you DID rather that some protein on your skin and some genes for a deadbeat dad. I have to agree with this. It’s great that we’ve seen how a black man can be elected President, and we should certain acknowledge that as an historic occasion. You can’t tell me that all this hype and adulation is simply because of this historic crack in the racial barrier, though. That’s why I urge people to wait and see. If he turns out to be an effective President, then there’ll be real cause for rejoicing. If he winds up disgracing the office though – and you just never know – then do we really want to take pride in his being black as well? ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-barack-obama-possibly-meet-these-ridiculous-high-expectations/482041/45 "2009-01-21T05:10:22Z")
Yes and this is part of the Obama plan. You simply build up high expectations then when you fail you claim, “it’s not my fault.” Obama was elected without anyone really giving it thought. You can look at his record and see there wasn’t anything there. But people got caught up in ‘Oh we have to get Bush out.’ Obama didn’t win so much as people liked him, as they hated Bush. Similarly how Nixon won in 68 and Reagan in 80. People HATED Johnson and Carter. Already we have heard Obama say “he MAY not fulfill all his promises.” Even before he was nominated he back peddled from removing troops from Iraq immediately to six month now it’s 16 months. If he was a really serious he’d have already shown his concern for working people by not going to a ball, but by working. I’m sure there are thousands of Americans out of work about to lose their homes that don’t get the luxury of one minute longer. But Obama sees fit to tell people whatever they want to hear, then say “They can wait.” And if he fails it comes down to “It’s not my fault you believed everything I promised.” This is typical Obama from day one when he entered politics. Too bad no one ever bothers to look at this. Four years from now we’ll see Obama re-elected saying “I didn’t have enough time,” and Oprah saying “Vote him in again, he’s still cute.” ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-barack-obama-possibly-meet-these-ridiculous-high-expectations/482041/46 "2009-01-21T05:28:05Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > Obama was elected without anyone really giving it thought. You can look at his record and see there wasn’t anything there. But people got caught up in ‘Oh we have to get Bush out.’ Unfortunately, I can’t respond to this properly in GD. > [@Markxxx](#): > > Obama didn’t win so much as people liked him, as they hated Bush. Or this. > [@Markxxx](#): > > If he was a really serious he’d have already shown his concern for working people by not going to a ball, but by working. I’m sure there are thousands of Americans out of work about to lose their homes that don’t get the luxury of one minute longer. Yes, the few hours he spent dancing with his wife instead of sitting at his desk have surely doomed America. > [@Markxxx](#): > > This is typical Obama from day one when he entered politics. Too bad no one ever bothers to look at this. What the hell does this even mean? ---
**Author:** ![waterj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/858c86/32.png) [@waterj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waterj2)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-barack-obama-possibly-meet-these-ridiculous-high-expectations/482041/47 "2009-01-21T05:55:17Z")
> [@Captain\_Carrot](#): > > Yes, the few hours he spent dancing with his wife instead of sitting at his desk have surely doomed America. Heck, he’s even managed to find time to [start sorting out the Guantanamo mess](http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/news/2009/01/obama_orders_guantanamo_prosecutors_to_seek_freeze.php) already. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-barack-obama-possibly-meet-these-ridiculous-high-expectations/482041/48 "2009-01-21T06:07:04Z")
> [@PatriotGrrrl](#): > > Well, he pronounced Concord right, which is more than some people do. You can have Conquered, Mass., as long as you correctly pronounce Con cord, North Carolina. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-barack-obama-possibly-meet-these-ridiculous-high-expectations/482041/49 "2009-01-21T07:07:21Z")
> [@Auntbeast](#): > > It seems as high as our expectations are for him, his expectations of each of us is much higher. I hope we live up to his ridiculously high expectations. This is the real answer. Yes, we’ve got some big expectations of him. Big times call for big ideas from big people, but we can’t also just skate by on autopilot and let people go unchecked. We are already a pretty big source of good, but we can do better. The only other option is failure and collapse. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-barack-obama-possibly-meet-these-ridiculous-high-expectations/482041/50 "2009-01-21T08:00:04Z")
People are naturally excited to see Bush go and a smart, efficiency-minded guy entering office. Give it a couple years and the fever will die down as people start to get a little more real about the issues facing this country. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-barack-obama-possibly-meet-these-ridiculous-high-expectations/482041/51 "2009-01-21T08:16:54Z")
Sorry for double-posting but I had some additional thoughts. Obama is the paradigm of sober, responsible realism. The subtext of many of his speeches throughout his campaign and the transition period (even in his inaugural speech) has been pretty clear: “Don’t get too excited guys. We are pretty fucked up and there’s only so much I can do.” He has done a great job of energizing the citizenry by emphasizing what I have always thought needs stressing: that making right by this country is not just the president’s job, it’s everyone’s job. That being said I feel confident that he will do everything in his power to at least get us moving in the right direction. He can’t disappoint _me_ because I’m not expecting a saint. Some of the people who are may be disappointed when they aren’t magically whisked out of the ghetto tomorrow, or cured of their cancer, etc. But I think there are plenty of Americans who have reasonable expectations of him despite all the hoopla. Again, people are just excited right now, and they deserve to be because it _is_ an exciting time. It’ll die down. ---
**Author:** ![Windwalker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/5e9695/32.png) [@Windwalker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Windwalker)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-barack-obama-possibly-meet-these-ridiculous-high-expectations/482041/52 "2009-01-21T08:56:58Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > If he was a really serious he’d have already shown his concern for working people by not going to a ball, but by working. I’m sure there are thousands of Americans out of work about to lose their homes that don’t get the luxury of one minute longer. But Obama sees fit to tell people whatever they want to hear, then say “They can wait.” And if he fails it comes down to “It’s not my fault you believed everything I promised.” > > This is typical Obama from day one when he entered politics. Too bad no one ever bothers to look at this. > > Four years from now we’ll see Obama re-elected saying “I didn’t have enough time,” and Oprah saying “Vote him in again, he’s still cute.” No offense, but what are you smoking? Every President spends Inauguration Day going to functions and doing nothing substantial. This is not “typical Obama”, this is “typical U.S. President”. Also, Obama has been signing executive orders on his first day, which is atypical of most Day One presidencies. This means he’s above the curve, not below. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-barack-obama-possibly-meet-these-ridiculous-high-expectations/482041/53 "2009-01-21T09:16:55Z")
Sure. 1. Those whose expectations are reasonable and rational already know that he faces a lot of challenges and will appreciate what he does accomplish. 2. Bush has set the bar so low that any accomplishments will seem large in comparison. 3. Those whose expectations aren’t reasonable and rational will be blinded by their faith and not notice if Obama screws up. The only people who will be disappointed will be the naysayers who already expect him to fail. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-barack-obama-possibly-meet-these-ridiculous-high-expectations/482041/54 "2009-01-21T10:16:34Z")
In every major speech I have seen, Obama has said that we have a lot of hard work ahead of us and that we all have to make sacrifices. I don’t see that as unrealistic, that’s pretty much what I expect an adult to say about difficult tasks. The alternative would be either to say a) the job is too big, so let’s not try; or b) everything is fine and here are some more tax cuts to prove it. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-barack-obama-possibly-meet-these-ridiculous-high-expectations/482041/55 "2009-01-21T13:31:42Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > In every major speech I have seen, Obama has said that we have a lot of hard work ahead of us and that we all have to make sacrifices. I don’t see that as unrealistic… The OP wasn’t talking about Obama’s expectations, though. He was talking about his supporters. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-barack-obama-possibly-meet-these-ridiculous-high-expectations/482041/56 "2009-01-21T16:02:04Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > Sorry for double-posting but I had some additional thoughts. > > Obama is the paradigm of sober, responsible realism. The subtext of many of his speeches throughout his campaign and the transition period (even in his inaugural speech) has been pretty clear: “Don’t get too excited guys. We are pretty fucked up and there’s only so much I can do.” > > He has done a great job of energizing the citizenry by emphasizing what I have always thought needs stressing: that making right by this country is not just the president’s job, it’s everyone’s job. > > That being said I feel confident that he will do everything in his power to at least get us moving in the right direction. He can’t disappoint _me_ because I’m not expecting a saint. Some of the people who are may be disappointed when they aren’t magically whisked out of the ghetto tomorrow, or cured of their cancer, etc. But I think there are plenty of Americans who have reasonable expectations of him despite all the hoopla. Again, people are just excited right now, and they deserve to be because it _is_ an exciting time. It’ll die down. This nails it, in my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![scule](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@scule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scule)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-barack-obama-possibly-meet-these-ridiculous-high-expectations/482041/57 "2009-01-21T16:28:47Z")
I think the OP has a very legitimate point. This may not be the case for the SDMB, where a large number of intelligent, savvy, well-informed people congregate, but I watch the inauguration (parts of it, in any case) and the ball afterwards, and the press surrounding it. There is definitely an air of messianic hope sprinkled around the coverage, and listening to interviews and pundits makes it evident that people genuinely expect something special from Obama. I hope for your sake he can deliver, but I don’t know that it’s possible to live up to the feelings being expressed over the last few days. I think a lot of people are unfortunately going to be disappointed, which is too bad because I still think he will do better for your country than anyone since Kennedy. Of course, only time will tell. ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-barack-obama-possibly-meet-these-ridiculous-high-expectations/482041/58 "2009-01-22T06:31:49Z")
> [@scule](#): > > (big snip) I think a lot of people are unfortunately going to be disappointed, which is too bad because I still think he will do better for your country than anyone since Kennedy. Of course, only time will tell. Can you tell me 4 ot 5 actual great things JFK did? Being handsome, nailing Marylin and promising stuff doesn’t count. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-barack-obama-possibly-meet-these-ridiculous-high-expectations/482041/59 "2009-01-22T07:52:48Z")
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a masterpiece of cool, calm and collected. Untold millions of lives were saved. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-barack-obama-possibly-meet-these-ridiculous-high-expectations/482041/60 "2009-01-22T09:05:31Z")
> [@JThunder](#): > > The OP wasn’t talking about Obama’s expectations, though. He was talking about his supporters. I don’t think it is Obama’s supporters who have unrealistic expections. The only people who really seem to be talking about this are some pundits and his detractors. A lot of Americans seem to be saying that they like that someone is finally calling them to action to get started on America’s problems. It’s interesting that I hear his speech being criticized for being too somber while at the same time people talk about his supporters having too high expectations. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-barack-obama-possibly-meet-these-ridiculous-high-expectations/482041.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-barack-obama-possibly-meet-these-ridiculous-high-expectations/482041.md?page=4)